Prediction of Potential Offsite TEDE, Excess Cancer Risk, Dominant Exposure Pathways, and Activity Concentration for Hypothetical Onsite Soil Contamination at the Proposed Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant

Abstract

This study evaluates the potential offsite radiological hazards by calculating total effective dose equivalent (TEDE) and excess cancer risk if onsite soil contamination occurs at the proposed Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant (RNPP) site, Bangladesh. The assessment has been performed assuming a hypothetical soil contamination associated with Fukushima Nuclear disaster with the help of the RESRAD (residual radioactivity) OFFSITE computer program developed by Argonne National Laboratory, U.S. Six radionuclides, namely, Cs-134, Cs-136, Cs-137, La-140, Sr-90, and Te-129m have been considered. The maximum TEDE has been found approximately 2.8 mSv/yr whereas the maximum total excess cancer risk shows a value of 3.25×10−3. The number of dominant exposure pathways, maximum contributor pathways, and duration of dominance of different nuclides have been identified. Ingestion of fish is identified as the principal pathway to both TEDE and excess cancer risk. Time variation of activity concentration and dose/source ratio have also been studied.